


Home in Your Arms

by highlytrainedfangirl



Series: Home [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, pre-serum steve, set before ca:tfa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 09:49:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8097526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highlytrainedfangirl/pseuds/highlytrainedfangirl
Summary: Before the serum Steve would get cold easily, especially in winter. Bucky was always scared of him falling ill, but he was always there to look after Steve.





	

The winter air was biting and people scurried along the streets in bundles of coats and scarves. While many were able to find warmth and comfort from their homes, Steve was not among of them. He'd been living with Bucky for six months, ever since his mother had died. The apartment they shared was more than enough but, in the cold of winter, the place was unforgiving. Somehow, frigid air would find its way in through every crack.  
Bucky had been letting Steve sleep on the bed, taking himself the narrow couch in the other room. He'd protested at first, already not wishing to out-do his stay, but Bucky had been just as stubborn.  
It hadn't been so bad at first, but every day the weather got harsher, and every night it became harder for Steve to sleep. He lay bundled under the woolen blanket hoping to at least retain some of his body’s natural warmth. 

Eventually, it started getting so bad that Bucky began to notice. He was shivering constantly and dark bags had found a permanent home beneath his eyes.  
“Hey, Stevie, you okay?” Concerned blue eyes looked up at him across the dinner table.  
“I'm fine,” he knew there wasn't any point lying; Buck always saw through him.  
“Really? Because you don't look fine, and I heard you awake all of last night.”  
Steve sighed internally. Last night had been the worst by far and he'd hoped that Bucky wouldn't be able to hear him shifting around. Obviously luck really wasn't on his side.  
“It… It's not that bad. I'm fine Buck. I am.”  
“Then why are you shivering?” He reached out hand to still the small man's faintly quivering shoulder.  
This time Steve’s sigh was audible. It came from a mixture of defeat and relief at the warmth radiating from his friend’s palm. The two sat in silence unsure of how to continue the conversation form there. But even if it was dropped temporarily, Steve knew that it wasn't over.

Later that night Bucky didn't speak, he just climbed onto the worn mattress alongside Steve. Steve didn't object, he knew why his friend was doing it, and it wasn't like they hadn't shared a bed before. He remembered all of the times they had done so as kids, building forts out of blankets and pillows, burying themselves inside their fabric cocoon. They always ended up huddled together beneath sheets, especially when they'd stay over each other's houses in winter.  
Those weren't the only times either. When Bucky had first offered him a place to stay, there had only been the one mattress. Bucky had slept facing the peeling, painted wall, while Steve had his back to him, facing into the centre of the small room. Despite Steve’s size, it had been difficult to fit both of them on comfortably. So, when one of the neighbours was throwing away an old couch, they swooped in to take it off their hands. It was then that Bucky had insisted on Steve taking the bed. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.  
Honestly, it had been strange; after two months of sleeping beside someone else the first few nights were lonely. It hadn't felt right to be sleeping on an empty bed, no matter how uncomfortable the previous situation had been. He didn't want to admit that he was happy to have Bucky joining him for the first time in months. 

It helped. Yes, he'd still spent most of the night shivering. And yes, Bucky was mildly irritated at being woken up every few hours because of Steve. But it did help. For the first time in a week Steve was able to get at least five hours sleep. It may not be much, but it was a start.

Of course, the next night was the same. Bucky clambered into bed after Steve and the two resumed their original sleeping arrangements.  
However, the deep chill rooted itself in Steve’s bones once more and he found himself seeking out the warmth of his friend. He didn't mean to, but subconsciously, his body inched its way closer to the other man in the bed. Heat rolled off Bucky in waves, gentle and inviting. Steve found himself shuffling backwards until his back rested against Bucky’s. He soaked in the warmth gratefully.  
Until the smaller man cursed himself when he felt the back against his shift.  
“Steve?” The effects of sleep hung over the word.  
“S-sorry I was just-”  
“Cold” Bucky finished for him as a shiver bit off the end of his sentence. The other man silently turned so that his front was now pressed into Steve's back. An arm lifted itself from under the covers to wrap tightly around his petit body. The squeak of protest died in his throat as warmth and comfort washed over him. Heat spread all throughout Steve's body and he couldn't help but bury himself deeper into the man behind him.  
He didn't want to. He didn't want to think about how nice it felt in Bucky’s arms, how safe. He didn't want to think about how perfectly he fit inside against the body behind him, like they were meant to be together. And he definitely wasn't going to let himself think about how much he wanted to turn around and wind his own arms around Bucky’s waist.  
He did, however, allow himself to be content with the peace it brought him, and finally he slipped away into the first comfortable sleep he'd had in over a week.

When Steve next woke, there was a hand resting gently on his thigh, just above his knee. Fingers were drawing slow, tentative circles. There was a face buried in the crook of his neck, soft breaths gracing his skin.  
Steve knew that the position they were in had long since passed friendship. The hand on his thigh and the chapped lips brushing against his neck were far too intimate. He knew that Bucky was only doing this because he was asleep; there was no way Steve would kid himself into thinking Bucky would do this while conscious. But in that one moment, everything was perfect. In that one moment he didn't care about what would happen after. He just relaxed into the embrace that felt like home.

**Author's Note:**

> Snuggles fic because there is so much damn angst in this fandom my heart needed it.


End file.
